G17 | DUQUESNE (6-10, 1-3) at SAINT JOSEPH'S (8-10, 2-5)      
Wed., Jan. 26, 2022 • 7:00 pm ET • Philadelphia, Pa. • Hagan Arena (3,500)

LIVE STREAM: ESPN+ with Matt Martucci & Joe Lunardi
RADIO: 104.7 HD2 / iHeartRadio with Ray Goss ('58) & Jarrett Durham ('71)

Duquesne (6-10, 1-3), coming off a 64-56 home loss to St. Bonaventure on Friday, heads to Philadelphia to take on Saint Joseph's (8-10, 2-5) on Wednesday, Jan. 26 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN2). The Dukes are looking to snap a three-game losing streak against an SJU squad that will be playing its fifth game in 10 days.

The Hawks, who are 6-4 at home, are returning from a Virginia trip where they faced VCU (L, 54-70, on Jan. 22) and George Mason (L, 71-77 on Jan. 24) on Saturday and Monday.

Duquesne is 1-1 in Atlantic 10 road games (1-3 overall) with a 78-74 win at UMass and a last-second 72-71 loss at Fordham.

Duquesne, which has won the past two games in the series, hasn't taken three in a row from Saint Joe's since 1990-91.

The Dukes, who won 78-60 in their last trip to Hagan Arena (Jan. 8, 2020), have never won two in a row at Saint Joe's. Austin Rotroff, who is out 4-6 weeks with a foot injury, is the only member of the current roster who has played at Hagan Arena.

TRENDING

• Freshman guard Primo Spears, a two-time A-10 Rookie of the Week, has led the Dukes in scoring a team-high seven times. He has scored 20 or more in two of four A-10 games (21 at UMass & 20 at Fordham) and leads the team with a 17.8 ppg. average in league play. Spears has seven assists and one turnover in 68 minutes in DU's past two g.
• First-year Indiana State transfer Tre Williams has pair of seven-block games (vs. Colorado at the Paradise Jam and at Fordham). Williams, an MVC All-Defensive Team member last season, recorded six of his seven blocks at Fordham in the second half. He is coming off a 15-11 double-double (with three blocks) vs. St. Bonaventure
• First-year TCU transfer Kevin Easley Jr. saw a streak of nine consecutive double-digit scoring games snapped at Fordham (7 pts.). The Indianapolis native has scored in double digits a team-high 14 times.
• Freshman guard Jackie Johnson III has scored 27 points in a game twice (vs. Weber State & at UMass). Johnson is shooting .412 (21-of-51) from 3-point this season.
• First-year Mercer transfer Leon Ayers III, has scored 20 or more four times.
• Junior F/C Austin Rotroff, a key contributor off the bench, is out 4-6 weeks with a foot injury. He averaged 7.0 rebounds in 18 min/g. in the four games prior to the Jan. 20 announcement. DU is already without frontcourt transfer R.J. Gunn Jr. who suffered a preseason ankle injury.
• DU has scored just four total bench points in its first two games without Rotroff.
• Duquesne's 11.3 turnovers/g. average is challenging the lowest mark in program history (11.0/g. in 2014). The Dukes set a school record for fewest turnovers in a game with three vs. New Hampshire on Dec. 11.
• Duquesne doesn't have a healthy member of the current roster who has played in a game at Saint Joe's (injured F Austin Rotroff is the only player who has).

DUKES AND HAWKS
Series Record: Saint Joseph's leads 41-17
At Pittsburgh: Saint Joseph's leads 16-11
At Philadelphia: Saint Joseph's leads 21-4
Neutral Site: Saint Joseph's leads 4-2
A-10 Reg. Season: Saint Joseph's leads 35-15
A-10 Championship: Saint Joseph's leads 4-1
Dambrot vs. Saint Joseph's: 3-2

• This is the 59th game in a series that dates back to Feb. 25, 1938. Saint Joseph's leads the series 41-17, including a 21-4 advantage in games played in Philadelphia. Duquesne has won two of the past three at Hagan Arena.
• What was once a lopsided series has tightened considerably over the past 14 years. The Dukes, who lost 16 of 17 to SJU from 1994 through 2007, have won eight of the past 16 with three of the losses coming in overtime. DU, which has won five of the past eight, is looking to post back-to-back wins at SJU for the first time. The Dukes are also looking to win three-straight over the Hawks for the first time since 1990 &1991.
• Duquesne's 18-point margin of victory (78-60) at Saint Joe's in 2020 was its third-largest in the series and most since a 96-70 win over the Hawks in an A-10 Championship game at the Palestra on Mar. 3, 1990. DU followed that with a 67-50 "home" win last year at La Roche U.
• Saint Joseph's was picked to finish 10th in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll of league coaches and media, one spot ahead of Duquesne.
• Duquesne head coach Keith Dambrot is 3-2 vs. Saint Joseph's with all five meetings coming at Duquesne.

SCHEDULE ADJUSTMENTS: Duquesne has had one non-conference game canceled (Dec. 22 vs. Wofford) and three Atlantic 10 games postponed (Dec. 30 at Davidson, Jan. 2 vs. George Mason & Jan. 5 vs. George Washington) due to COVID-19 protocols. The at Davidson game has been rescheduled for Feb. 14 and GW home game for Feb. 16 (the Mason game is yet to be rescheduled). The Dukes had a 19-day pause between their 76-54 win over UC Irvine in Akron on Dec. 19 and their 78-74 win at UMass on Jan. 8.

BALANCING ACT: The balanced Dukes have five players averaging within 3.8 points of each other: Primo Spears (12.6), Leon Ayers III (12.3), Kevin Easley Jr. (12.2), Tre Williams (10.9) & Jackie Johnson III (8.8). Ayers III & Spears (four times) and Johnson III (twice) have scored 20 or more this season. Seven Dukes have posted double-digit scoring games this year.


LAST GAME
ST. BONAVENTURE 64, DUQUESNE 56
Jan. 21, 2022 • UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse • Pittsburgh, Pa.
Game 16 Recap

• Duquesne cut a 16-point first half deficit to three on two occasions in the second half, but couldn't close the gap in falling to the Bonnies for the sixth-straight time in Pittsburgh.
• Freshman Primo Spears led three Dukes in double figures with 18 points. Kevin Easley Jr. added 14 points and Tre Williams posted a 15-11 double-double along with three blocked shots.
• Duquesne, which had four players score, didn't register a bench point. There were only two bench points in the game.
• The Dukes assisted on 11 of their 22 field goals. Spears' six assists were one shy of his career high set in the season opener vs. Rider.
• St. Bonaventure's largest lead was 16, at 23-7 with 6:54 left in the first half ... Duquesne's largest lead was at 2-0 ... there was one tie and one lead change before St. Bonaventure took the lead for good on a Jalen Adaway dunk that made it 4-2 with 18:04 left in the first half ... St. Bonaventure led for 38:04 ... Duquesne led for 0:17.